From Quilt to Public Art and Advocacy:
Reimagining Stories Through Public Art

February 21 – March 26, 2026

Witness this impactful work of art:
Black Mountain United Methodist Church’s green space
(facing Hwy 70/W State Street)

Ministry of Hope WNC, in partnership with Black Mountain United Methodist Church (BMUMC), is proud to host the Western North Carolina installation site for the traveling public arts display, Stitching Stories Reimagined.

Stitching Stories Reimagined is a retelling of “Stitching Stories: A Prison Awareness Quilt” that was crocheted at the minimum-security Canary Unit of the North Carolina Corrections Institution for Women by members of the H.A.T.S. (Handcrafted and Totally Special) group during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 25-foot quilt they created was completed just before Mother’s Day 2021. On that day, the 62 women at the Unit whose stories were woven into the quilt were invited to tie the ribbons and bows on each other’s squares.

“We are delighted to be able to partner with organizations statewide and faith groups locally to bring this powerful public art to our community,” said Lauronda Morrow Teeple, executive director of Ministry of Hope, the local nonprofit which serves as the sole source of funding for the interfaith chaplaincy program at Western Correctional Center for Women. “This quilt tells the stories of members of our community who are often silenced and marginalized — imprisoned women whose voices deserve to be heard. By honoring their experiences, the quilt translates individual struggles into a symbol of resilience that we hope inspires healing, empathy, and advocacy.”

In 2023, Arise Collective was awarded a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds and Mellon Foundations to bring the original quilt to life as a 30-foot-long inclusive public art project. Designed for travel and permanent installation, four piedmont artists were commissioned to create this public art. This exhibit piece recreates the quilt’s stories using a mosaic wall, an opposing mirror wall, and a vinyl wrap. Each square in the mosaic reflects one year of time served, highlighted with ribbons representing each woman’s struggles with addiction, domestic violence, sexual assault, mental health, COVID-19, children left behind, and the death of a loved one. The mirror wall stands proudly in opposition, a chance for the viewer to stand in the place of one of the original quilt artists or the many women incarcerated in North Carolina today. The words surrounding the portraits are from workshops held in the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women and in the community with women in Arise Collective’s Women’s Reentry Project.

In October 2025, the traveling exhibit’s journey started at Benevolence Farm in Graham, then The Caraway Foundation in Anson County, then the Public Library in High Point. It will be on display here in Black Mountain from February 21st – March 26th at BMUMC’s green space, facing Hwy 70/W State Street. The art exhibit will find its permanent resting place at Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh, sponsored by Raleigh Arts. Additionally, as a part of the grant, PBS-NC is creating a segment about the creation of this project that features three of the four original crochet artists who are now free, as well as the four public artists.

The public are invited to witness this impactful work of art at Black Mountain United Methodist Church (BMUMC) from February 21 – March 26, 2026.

Stitching Stories Reimagined art exhibit’s placement is at Black Mountain United Methodist Church’s side lawn, facing W. State Street.

For directions, CLICK HERE

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